Scoot: Why the Saints should beat the Seahawks!

by Scoot,posted Jan 6 2014 1:13PM

The day after the Saints were dominated by the Seahawks on Monday Night Football, I said on my show on WWL that the stage was set for the Saints to not only get revenge for that loss and for the Seahawks knocking them out of the playoffs in 2011, but also to silence the critics that say the Saints can’t win in the playoffs on the road. Saturday night the Saints did a lot to silence the critics when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 26-24, winning their 1st playoff game on the road in team history - and it was a very cold outdoor game!

So, the stage is set for the Saints Saturday in Seattle! Here’s why I think the Saints should beat the Seahawks in Seattle and move on in the playoffs:

• In 2011, the Seahawks were not expected to beat the Saints in a playoff game and the Seahawks dominated the Saints
• This season, the Seahawks embarrassed the Saints on Monday Night Football with a 34-7 win
• The Seahawks were 2-2 in their final 4 regular-season games this year - losing to the 49ers in San Francisco, and they were beaten at home by the Cardinals
• The Seahawks are not invincible, and no team consistently beats the same team in the NFL

I always talk about football beyond the match-ups, the records and the statistics because at that level of play, the game is as mental as it is physical. After the Monday night game in Seattle, I said that I thought the special ear plugs the Saints wore to cut down on the 12th-Man noise factor was a big mistake. The ear plugs were something foreign in their ears and that could not only throw them out of sync, but was also a physical reminder that they were in enemy territory and were at a disadvantage.

We all have voices in our heads and for someone who has dealt with an extreme case of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) all of his life, I know all too well how those voices can rob you of your confidence. When things began to go terribly wrong at the very beginning of that Monday night game against the Seahawks, those voices may have been subconsciously reminding the Saints what was written and said about them going into the game; the Saints are not good on the road in adverse weather. This is just a theory, but could the ear plugs have amplified the volume of those voices?

Sean Payton understands the mental aspect of football. Facing the challenge of a playoff road game in very cold weather in an outdoor stadium in front of hostile fans, Coach Payton did a few things to make the Saints focus on positive thinking that might silence those subconscious voices reminding them about all the things that were being said about them on the road in Philly:

• Gas cans in the locker room, which was a way to ask the players if they had enough “gas” left to win
• New travel sweat suits
• Switched from red to green Gatorade
• Had a music video made and played it for the players; Brees and other players playing in extremely cold weather set to Bing Crosby’s “Winter Wonderland” with dry ice in the room to create the effect of extremely cold weather. This reminded the Saints that they have been in that situation before.
• And Popeyes Fried Chicken on the team plane!

These may seem like superficial things, but we all hear voices in our heads; voices that remind us of consistent obstacles or patterns of failure. Now, with Saturday’s playoff win on the road in Philadelphia – in the cold – the Saints have silenced the voices in their heads as they head to Seattle for their playoff game against the Seahawks, and I think the Saints will carry a new confidence with them.

In my tendency to use football and sports as a metaphor for life, there may be a personal lesson that can be learned from the Saints changing a few seemingly insignificant things to inspire positive feelings to drown out thoughts of past negative patterns.

If there is any pattern of negative outcomes in your life, then find things that you might do differently. And it could be simple things, like, starting a new routine or habit, taking a slightly different way to work, buy a new calendar and start fresh with the ways you keep daily notes and schedules, try a new look with clothes or hair or anything that makes you feel just a little different. So much in life is simply mind over matter.
If nothing else – start eating Popeyes Fried Chicken!

Scoot: How come Seattle can use noise makes for there games at home? That's something the Saints and the NFL need to check into. No wonder why they hold the record for most noisiest stadium.

01/06/2014 3:50PM

Next Game

will be at the winner of 40whiners or panties game

01/06/2014 5:25PM

Awesome

Love your show scoot!!! I usually don't read your blogs very often but I love how you word things into a more positive respect. And to the comment about where will the next game be after the saints dominate the Seahawks, it will be either in Carolina or sanfrancisco. Whoever wins out of that game is where we are going. We are the sixth seed so we will not come back home. Thanks scoot for all your great opinions and feedback. WhoDat!!!!!!

01/06/2014 5:56PM

NFC Championship for the Saints,but first,Beat Seattle!

The Saints will have their hands full saturday in Seattle!Payton will use the same ingredients and more for Saturday after beating Philly!And then,there is a possibility that the Saints will host an NFC Championship in the Dome on Sunday January 19,2014!

01/06/2014 6:10PM

Seattle has been lucky all year

They aren't a very good team, it's all luck

01/06/2014 6:28PM

Saints can't host NFC championship

Saints are the 6th seed and therefore CANNOT host a playoff game. The higher seeded team always hosts the games. So if Carolina wins NFC championship will be there, if Niners win the NFC Championship will be there...NOT IN THE SUPERDOME!

01/07/2014 1:08AM

Laughable

HAHAHAHA! Saints will get killed in Seattle. Let's see how you spin that it's actually a good thing that the Saints off season will start early. What a joke!

01/07/2014 8:10AM

Seattle has been "lucky"??

The Saints are a very good team, and I definitely give them a shot to knock off Seattle this weekend. They have way too much offensive talent to discount that possibility. But, to suggest the Seahawks are 13-3 because they are "lucky" is complete insanity. You don't become the #1 defense in the league by being "lucky". Moreover, there was nothing "lucky" about the complete gut-stomping they gave the Saints on Dec. 2nd. They just plain beat them down in humiliating fashion. The memory of that may serve the Saints well on Saturday, but I think it's the Saints who are going to need a lot of luck on their side if they're going to win this game.

01/07/2014 10:53AM

GET REAL!

It might snow in July also, but that is about the same chances the Saints have.

01/07/2014 11:55AM

Objective observation

Last game the Saints were missing Sproles, while the Seahawks were missing Walter Thurmond. So Saints Offense and Seahawks defense on paper should be better. It would be insane to expect the same level of play by the Seahawks defense, but a certain aspect - the slot & or covering Stills should be better, with a dropoff on covering Graham with K.J. Wright being out for the Seahawks. Now this time, the Saints could be without Lewis (race to come back to a Saturday game from a concussion), and will be without Harylson and Vacarro... a pretty significant blow, so on paper, the Seahawks offense should do better.

01/07/2014 1:18PM

Don't forget the Harvin factor....

If Percy is ready to go, the Seahawks will open up the field on Offense. Even if he is simply on the field as a decoy, he will demand respect from the D. K.J. being out could help the Saints TE's, and an improved running attack will be essential to have any chance. Though Seattle has not played well on offense since the Monday night game, their D has been out of this world good.
Turnovers and ball control is what New Orleans will have to have... Even that may not be enough. If Seattle is on their game, no one can beat them.

01/07/2014 3:13PM

WHO DAT

HELLO: JUST PLAY TO WIN

01/07/2014 4:00PM

If only the game were played on a mystical plane of existence...

Of course, if the stage were reversed I'd probably make a similar desperate reach for hope--but that doesn't mean it would be legitimate either.
The Seahawks defense has no holes. They have a phalanx of linemen on a deep and talented rotation that will not wear down. Every pass rush from the first to the last will be full gonzo.
They have fast linebackers that can cover the tight end.
And they have three AP All-Pros in the secondary.
The run defense has played two poor games, both coming in the middle of the season. For the other 14 games, they've given up 87 yards rushing per.
However, Sproles and Ingram are the type of back that can occasionally give the Seahawks trouble--short, hard to find, and stout. They never had a chance to do much in the December game because it was a blowout early (17-0, end of first quarter). So, for the Saints to have any chance at all, they can't turn the ball over, and they can't get too far behind early. A lot easier said than done.
The Seahawks will win or lose this game on two factors: stopping the run on defense, and protecting the ball on offense. They're pretty good at both of those. If the Saints have to throw 40 times in this game, they are doomed.

01/07/2014 9:29PM

Here is the score

Seahawks 45 Saints 20

01/07/2014 9:33PM

You sold me .

All good reasoning. Btw the Saints easily beat the Cardinals who beat the Seahawks at home.

Saints 31 Seahawks 17.
Pete Carrol didn't help matters for his Seahawks when he told them this will be a different Saints team than the one they dominated a month ago. Because it will be a very different team and they believe it. How does that play out in their subconscious? The Saints are coming but a different Saints. Causing confusion and doubt while the Saints are making those positive changes which are new and fun and comforting ...... Can't wait to see this unfold. Great job Scoot and Coach Payton! Go Saints! Enjoy the bird-feast! Tastes like chicken.